In Cheyenne tonight: "The Music of Star Wars"

From the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:

Toby Rush is set to give his "The Music of Star Wars" presentation, a hit on the UNC campus, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne. By all accounts, prepare to come away with a new appreciation for "Star Wars." 

"But this isn't a straight-laced academic, hoity-toity, bow-tie presentation," Rush said. "We have a tremendous amount of fun. We have a lot of laughs. A lot of it is just enjoying some of the great scenes and the music from those films."

"Star Wars": Behind the music behind the movies - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online

May the food be with you -- at July 7 "Star Wars" food-raiser

Darth Vader wants your food -- for Cheyenne NEEDS

Highlands United Presbyterian Church announces its "Star Wars" Festival “food-raiser” for NEEDS. The STAR WARS FESTIVAL, is scheduled for 6:30-9:30 p..m., Thursday, July 7, at the Highlands United Presbyterian Church, 2390 Pattison Ave., Cheyenne . The public is invited to attend. Admission is FREE with the donation of any non-perishable food item or baby item such as diapers. All items collected will be donated to NEEDS, Inc. for their food bank.

A variety of events are planned as part of this family evening: 

6:30 pm - Intergalatic Meet-and-Greet
Want to meet Darth Vader, Imperial Stormtroopers or R2D2? Come early to the talk and meet some of your favorite characters from the Star War films. Bring your camera and take as many pictures as you like! Re-enactors include members of the Mountain Garrison of the 501st Legion -- www.501st.com. Members reside in both Colorado and Wyoming.

Dr. Toby Rush presents "The Music of Star Wars"

7:30 pm - Presentation: The music of Star Wars 
This 90-minute multimedia presentation from UNC music professor TOBY RUSH, includes excerpts from all six films. Dr. Rush will present the music of Star Wars and explore how John Williams used the soundtrack to help tell George Lucas' epic tale.

9 pm - Costume Contest
Wear your Star Wars costume! Guests are encouraged to dress as characters from any of the Star Wars films. A short fashion show, allowing guests to strut their stuff, will be held following Dr. Rush’s talk. Prizes will be awarded for the top outfits!

All this FREE with your donation for NEEDS! So bring the family, this is one event you don’t want to miss! And it’s for a good cause – with all foodstuffs to be donated to NEEDS Cheyenne. 

Highlands Presbyterian Church is located in north Cheyenne at 2390 Pattison Avenue. From Dell Range at Mountain, drive north on Mountain Road to the intersection of Pattison and Mountain.

For more information, contact Rodger McDaniel, pastor of Highlands Presbyterian, at 307-634-2962 (church office) or rodger.mcdaniel@bresnan.net.

Eat, shop and watch a cool movie tonight in downtown Rawlins

Rawlins DDA/Main Street has been working extremely hard the past few years on its downtown. Tonight, Rawwlins DDA/Main Street and the Carbon County School District #1 Rec Board present Downtown Moonlight Movies, a outdoor movie series showing four films June through September. Tonight’s show at Depot Park, 4^th and Front streets, is the animated feature “Despicable Me.”

This year's movie line-up is:
Despicable Me - June 24th
Back to the Future - July 8th
Jailhouse Rock - July 29th
Happy Gilmore - September 23rd

Movies will begin at dark, about 9:30 p.m. Come down early at 9 p.m. for the costume contest. Dress to the theme of the movie to win Main Street Money, gift certificates good at over 15 downtown businesses. 

Vendors selling food, drink, glow-in-the-dark items and popcorn will be present. 

July 8th's movie showing is in conjunction with SummerFest, Rawlins Jam and Outlaw Show N' Shine. For more information on this great weekend in Rawlins, visit www.rawlinsfest.com. 

September 23rd is in conjunction with state golf and will begin at 7 p.m.

Call for entries: Women's Film Institute Shorts Tour

The Women's Film Institute is hitting the road again, and we are inviting you and your peers to submit your film to the the 3rd Annual Women's Film Institute Shorts Tour!

Over the last two years since its launch, the Women's Film Institute Shorts Tour has screened at various galleries, arthouse theaters, universities, and media arts centers all across the country and throughout the world. The diverse selection of shorts at the tour celebrates the exceptional contributions of women in the world of cinema from around the globe. The tour includes a cross-section of socially-conscious films that are a catalyst for connecting communities and fostering discussion through the power of independent filmmaking. The films serve as a quilt of stories meant to invoke and inspire audience-goers long after they leave the screening.

This is a call for entries for this year's tour. The 3rd Annual Women's Film Institute Shorts Tour accepts short films/videos 20 minutes or under in length, and of all genres: narrative, documentary, music video, animation, and experimental works. Films/videos must be directed or co-directed by women.

Regular Deadline: May 28. Entry Fee: $35
Late Deadline: July 15. Entry Fee: $45
Submit your entry via Withoutabox.com
Sign-up for Withoutabox.com is free!

For more information on the WFI and on submitting your film, visit: http://womensfilminstitute.

Cheyenne International Film Festival film highlights the arts in downtown Cheyenne

The Cheyenne International Film Festival (CIFF) short documentary airs on Bresnan Cable Channel 19 in Cheyenne daily at noon and 7 p.m. The program emphasizes the importance of the arts in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming. The documentary features filmmakers MaryLee Herrmann, Patrick Mallek and Ken Wajda discussing film festivals and independent film. Local economic and community development officials Darren Rudloff of Visit Cheyenne, Michell Howard of the Wyoming Film Office and Randy Oestman from the Wyoming Arts Council discuss the importance of the arts.

Teton County Library screens Jen Tennican's new film during "Sunday at the Coach"

On Friday, June 3, the Teton County Public Library in Jackson presents "Sunday at the Coach" from 6-7 p.m. 

Ever experienced "church," high risk music or the Christine Chapel? Enjoy an evening of true stories told live by the Stagecoach Band and Sunday night regulars, who have been playing, dancing and toe-tapping at this colorful saloon for 42 years. Watch a sneak preview of local filmmaker Jen Tennican's The Coach: An American Crossroads. Fun finger food and beverages provided. Audience members are encouraged to bring Coach memorabilia and stories to share. Location: Ordway Auditorium. Free. Adult Humanities Coordinator, Oona Doherty, 733-2164 ext. 135, odoherty@tclib.org.

Jen's film, Highway 22 Revisited, just won the Wyoming Short Film Competition:

Documentary filmmaker Jennifer Tennican uses an iconic western watering hole, the Stagecoach Bar, as a lens to view seventy years of history and societal change in Wilson, Wyoming. The problem is the only thing people want to talk about is the night that Bob Dylan supposedly played at the bar. Repeatedly sidetracked by this story, she goes in search of the truth - did he or didn't he? Is the story real or an urban legend? Join her on her quest to resolve the mystery. 

Cheyenne International Film Festival to screen 47 indie films at Historic Atlas Theatre

The 2nd Cheyenne International Film Festival (CIFF) screens at the Historic Atlas Theatre in Downtown Cheyenne May 19-22. The program will consist of 47 independent films at the historic Atlas Theatre.

Last year, CIFF honored BIFF alumnus and Oscar nominee Daniel Junge. His documentary, “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010.

“We like to include the community as much as possible in CIFF,” CIFF Producer Alan O’Hashi said. “We have a Call2ACTion program similar to BIFF’s which links up with local non-profits and we show films that allow each organization to ‘talk-back’ with the audience about their issues in the save space of art, in our case, film.”

The Call2Action partners this year include, The Old West Museum (1911 Silent Film), the Southeast Wyoming Intertribal Powwow Association (Divided Trails by Jerry Aronson), V.F.W. Post 1881 (A Warm Wind), Safehouse (Mother by Chris Fauchere) Grant Family Farms (What’s Organic About Organic) and the Wyoming Children’s Action Alliance (Your Neighbor’s Child).

Kicking off the CIFF is a day-long event called Exploring the Creative Economy Conference and Expo featuring Hollywood screenwriter Rachel Powell and a video production seminar by Michael Conti. 

For more information about the festival program, visit the website at http://www.ciff1.com and join the CIFF facebook page at http://www.cheyenneinternationalfilmfestival.org

Students screen their films tonight at Casper College

Students will present a variety of short films during the Fourth Annual Casper College Student Film Festival on Tuesday, May 3 (tonight!) beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Durham Recital Hall located in the Aley Fine Arts Center in Casper.

The festival features the works of the college’s two video production classes offered last fall and this spring. Films will include mockumentaries, advertisements, movie trailers, musical pieces, and commentaries. The 90-minute program will conclude with the showing of two short narrative movies developed by the student teams.

“The Casper College students were in charge of every aspect of the production process, from the writing of the script to the filming of the scenes to the long hours spent editing the materials,” said Pete Van Houten, Casper College communication and media instructor. “Some of the early work is a little rough, though you can really see some growth in their abilities with the addition of each new assignment,” he added.

The student filmmakers include Greg Bullinger, Brian Castillo, Blake Trimmer, Jason Reinhardt, Calvin Grinder, Karen Hatlestad, Kellan Hawley, Nikki Stevenson, Stephen Christensen, Justin Pehrson, Scott Long, Austin Martinez, Cody Box, Danielle Brown and Trevor Wroble.

The film festival is free and open to the public. Food and refreshments will be served.

Call for proposals: American Film Showcase

Call for proposals:

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition for a cooperative agreement to administer the American Film Showcase's Contemporary Voices in Documentary and Fiction Film program. Full details may be found at: http://exchanges.state.gov/grants/open2.html. The application deadline is May 25, 2011.

The American Film Showcase seeks to bring award-winning independent American documentaries and narrative films to audiences around the world to offer contemporary new insights into American life and culture, as well as issues affecting democratic societies. The films and their filmmakers will be showcased at international venues, including U.S. Embassy-organized events and/or international documentary and feature film festivals. This program will provide for travel by documentary and feature filmmakers and film experts in conjunction with public presentation of the films overseas. Participating filmmakers and film experts will be expected to conduct or participate in master classes, workshops, lectures and other outreach activities designed for a variety of audiences, with a focus on younger and underserved audiences. The classes are expected to include filmmaking workshops and training in digital technology, emergent media, and creative use of social media. The Showcase also will provide for follow-up programming that could include return visits overseas by American filmmakers or visits by young foreign filmmakers to the United States.

Through this solicitation, ECA seeks an organization to identify and select a collection of contemporary American documentary and narrative films that offer a broad overview of the best in current American independent filmmaking. The films should demonstrate high artistic quality, illustrate diverse viewpoints, address a variety of social issues, and reflect the creativity inherent in an open, democratic society. Documentaries are the priority focus of the American Film Showcase. They should address important and compelling themes and represent more than half of the films in the Showcase, with the remainder being narrative/fiction films. The Showcase also should include a small collection of animated shorts.

U.S. public and non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue code section 26 USC 501 (c) (3) may submit proposals for the American Film Showcase. For this competition, all applicants must demonstrate sufficient experience successfully exhibiting, distributing, or otherwise promoting American documentaries and narrative films. They also should demonstrate extensive knowledge of independent filmmaking -- especially the documentary field -- both in the U.S. and overseas.

Noted actor Wilford Brimley will be the featured guest at the Cheyenne International Film Festival

Wilford Brimley in "The China Syndrome"

Actor Wilford Brimley and his wife Beverly will appear at the Cheyenne International Film Festival on Saturday, May 21. The evening will be co-presented by the Historic Plains Hotel, the CFD Old West Museum and Hands Across the Saddle. The ticket price is $30.

Doors open at 6 p.m. at the Historic Atlas Theatre and appetizers by the Plains Hotel and wine by the Table Mountain Vineyards.

Wilford Brimley most recently appeared in Did You Hear About the Morgans? The film was set in Wyoming and starred Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. He is known for his roles in Seinfeld, The Firm, The China Syndrome, The Natural, Cocoon, The Hotel New Hampshire and Absence of Malice. He and his wife Beverly are founders of Hands Across the Saddle based in Greybull, Wyoming.

The audience will also be treated to a demonstration of traditional Northern Arapaho dancing and singing by members of the Wind River Dancers and the Wind River Tribal College language classes. The Plains Hotel has a long history with the Northern Arapaho, as a painting of Chief Little Shield hangs prominently in the lobby of the hotel.

The feature film on Saturday is a never-been-seen-before black and white silent film found in the archives of the Oregon State Historical Office. The silent film will have an original and spontaneous live piano score performed by Rattlesnake Jake Martin.

Georgie Sicking at Buffalo Theater

Shining a spotlight on film, visual arts, food and the future this Thursday evening in Cheyenne

Remember the Art Design and Dine art walk from 5-8 p.m. Eight local galleries and exhibition spaces are open with new work this evening. Mixed-media artist Pravina Gondalia will be at Glen Garrett's Gallery, Haitian art will be on display at Clay Paper Scissors, glass artists will be at Prairie Wind and Deselms, the art of Ukrainian native Ringo Stavrowsky is at the Link Gallery, and Georgia Rowswell (sample of her work in photo) at the Nagle-Warren Mansion B&B Gallery.  

Also at the Link Gallery -- Alan O'Hashi will announce the line-up for the Cheyenne International Film Festival. The first festival last spring was fantastic and I'm looking forward to some boffo movies (and box office) this year. Get more info atwww.cheyenneinternationalfilmfestival.org

And don't forget the food and beverages at Ruby Juice and the Laramie County Public Library Cafe, co-sponsors of the art walk.

Prior to the art walk from 4-5:30 p.m., the Cheyenne Arts Council will host a meeting at the Historic Atlas Theatre, 211 W. 16th St., to "present its mission, image, goals and action plan -- the arts community is invited to express interest and to get involved." Get more info at 307-222-4747 or www.cheyenneartscouncil.org.

Link Gallery hosts Ringo Stavrowsky's art and film festival preview April 14 for Art Design & Dine

This announcement comes from Rebecca Barrett at the Link Gallery in downtown Cheyenne:

Come and join us on Thursday April 14th from 5PM to 8PM at the Link Gallery at 124 West Lincolnway for our monthly Art, Design and Dine art walk.  This month we have some very exciting things  that we think will provide an evening you won't soon forget, including the Cheyenne International Film Festival program release reception and party, and new paintings from a wonderful new artist, Ringo Stavrowsky.

This Art, Design and Dine evening we will be hosting the second Cheyenne international Film Festival's Program Release Reception.  Be among the first to know what movies they will be screening at the Historic Atlas Theatre from May 19th to the 22nd. Join friends and make new acquaintances as you enjoy an evening of catered food sponsored by Suite 1901 and tickle your palette with a wine tasting sponsored by Table Mountain Wines  or enjoy a choice of beers provided by and sponsored by Shadow's Restaurant.  It promises to be a wonderful evening so be sure to bring your friends along as well.

We will also be showcasing the art of Elvira Stavrowsky, better known as "Ringo." Ringo Stavrowsky's art is best described as whimsical Western,  a sort of Walt Disney approach to the West.  It will bring a twinkle to your eye.  Ringo, whose background is in interior design, was encouraged by her father in law, the famous artist Oleg Stavrowski, to paint the West as she saw it while growing up on the shores of the Black Sea in the Ukraine at Odessa.

"I remember seeing films and reading books about the West," she recalls. "I knew that I would find a way to get there.  Even when there was almost no hope of getting out of the Soviet Union I felt this special place calling to me and I knew that I belonged there.  I saw an overdubbed version of John Ford's "Stagecoach" and i was completely captivated by it.  I kept going back again and again until my friends began calling me "Ringo".  The name stuck and I did finally find my way to the wonderful  Wild West.  Originally  my work was more traditional but as I gained competence I found myself longing to do something different.  I began distorting and stylizing my work into something more interesting for me and into something that is  much more of a personal expression of how I feel about the West."

Among Ringo's pieces that we will be displaying are "Two of a Kind" a 16X20 Acrylic on Canvas which portrays the humorous relationship between a cowboy and his horse.  We will also have "War Party" and "The Archer"  two 16X20 acrylic on canvas pieces  and also "Hunters" a  24X35 acrylic which portray the American Indian in her singular way.  We also have "Gaucho" an 11X14 acrylic on canvas done in Ringo's singular style.

Wyoming PBS and UW hold free screenings April 20 of new film about the Civil Rights struggle

"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" wraps up Casper College Multicultural Film Festival

The third and final film of the Casper College Multicultural Film Festival, “Exploring Ireland Through Films,” is The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which tells the story of two brothers, Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Padraic Delaney) involved in a guerrilla war between Britain and the Irish Republican Army in the years immediately following World War I. The film, directed by Ken Loach, will be shown on Friday, April 15, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Wheeler Auditorium, located in the Wold Physical Science Center, Room 103.

“This film was chosen so that we could explore the sectarian divisions inherent in Irish society and politics,” said Erich Frankland, film festival co-director.

In his review, published in the Chicago Sun Times, movie critic Roger Ebert said: “You don't have to know about the history of ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland to be swept up in the human drama of The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.”

Casper College English instructor and film festival co-director Patrick Amelotte will lead the post-film discussion.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley is free and open to all and is sponsored by the Casper College Honors Program, the Casper College International Studies Program, and Casper College.

FMI: Lisa S. Icenogle, 800-442-2963, ext. 2372

CIFF announces its 2011 film program April 14 at the Link Gallery in Cheyenne

The Cheyenne International Film Festival (CIFF) gets underway April 14 when its film program is released at the Link Gallery, 124 W. Lincolnway, Cheyenne. The reception will be catered by Suite 1901 with a wine tasting by the Table Mountain Vinyards of Huntley, Wyoming. It is held in conjunction with the First Thursday Art Design & Dine Walk through downtown Cheyenne.

The CIFF which opens at the Atlas Theatre May 19 will feature over 40 films of all genres from Wyoming, the U.S. and from around the world.

The CIFF Call2ACTion program links up with local nonprofit community-based issues. Films are screened with the organization or cause members participating on a panel discussing the film in the context of their local organization. This year’s Call2ACTion partners are the Safe House Cheyenne, the Wyoming Children’s Action Alliance, the VFW Post 1881, the Southeast Wyoming Intertribal Powwow Association and Grant Farms‘ Community Supported Agriculture program.

When released, the program is still subject to change based on the availability of filmmakers and celebrities. For more information, join the facebook page.

Filming begins in late April on Longmire pilot based on Craig Johnson's novels

Here's some news about the TV version of Craig Johnson's Wyoming-based mystery novels (from Craig's Post-It e-mail newsletter):

I guess this is the big moment a lot of people have been waiting for -- we have a pretty damn fine cast for Warner Horizon and A&E's television pilot, Longmire. Filming of the pilot (which has to test well before the network picks it up to be aired, so it's not time to uncross your fingers just yet) begins in late April down in the Las Vegas/Taos/Santa Fe area of New Mexico, since it was deemed that Wyoming's weather was too unstable for shooting a series and had too much snow to appear to be spring.

It's pretty much been a Cinderella story all along with Emmy-winning Greer Shephard (The Closer, Nip/Tuck, Trust Me) and Mike Robin (The Closer, Rizzoli and Isles, Nip/Tuck, NYPD Blue) executive producing and John Coveny (The Closer, Trust Me)and Hunt Baldwin (The Closer, Trust Me), writing the script and also executive producing. People keep asking me why my experiences have been so different from almost everybody else's, and my response remains the same -- it's the people you're working with, you either trust them or you don't. From the get go, I was aware that there were probably going to be changes in the Absaroka County of my books and the one that hopefully makes it to TV. I knew it was a collaborative effort and what works in some mediums might not work in others. The first revelation on that front was when they told me that they wanted to make Walt a little younger.

"Why?"

They nodded their heads apologetically. "Because if the show runs for ten years, we really don't want Vic doing all of Walt and Henry's leg work."

I had a hard time arguing with that.

Other changes are moving Cady back to Wyoming so that she could have more interaction with her Dad; besides, most actresses don't want to sign a long-term contract just to talk on the answering machine.

They changed Turk's name to Branch because Turk sounds too much like Ferg when spoken out loud.

That was the majority of it.

The changes are no where near major-I'd call them infinitesimal and certainly were made for good reasons -and, of course, the stories will be different, picking up and borrowing chunks of the novels, but following their own tales because of the amount of stories they need to tell and the time constraints in which to tell them. If the series gets picked up, then they'll need about a dozen stories for the first season alone (let alone the ten years we're hoping for), and I, gentle reader, have only written seven books. They don't want to serialize either as it has been proven that series that have a beginning, a middle, and an end in each episode do better; of course, this doesn't mean that the characters lives don't have complications. Just like the books.

There will be more characters cast down the road (don't look for Lucien, Dorothy, or Dog in the pilot), but I wanted to get this out to you guys so you could be a part of the thing as it develops.

There is not a perfect world where the A&E series is going to line up precisely with the image in my or your heads, but boy this crew has been killing themselves in an attempt to get it right, even going so far as to hire my good buddy Marcus Red Thunder along with me as a creative consultants on the set. Why? Because they love the books; they love the characters, the place, and what the novels have to say.

I hope you'll appreciate the hard work they've done on my behalf and yours.

More later about the cast.

The Congo Tour film will be screened tonight at Casper College

Tonight at 7 p.m. Casper College will be showing The Congo Tour film from Invisible Children.

From the organizer, Casper College student Lorian Stegelman: We will be screening the new TONY bracelet documentary (eight years in the making and finally being screened for the first time). Also, a Ugandan adocate named Collines is coming with the Roadies. She is part of the 1% of Ugandan students who make it to University. Extra: IC will be bringing in more merchandise, including more MEND bags. The event is free, but the merchandise helps to fund IC campaigns.

The screening will take place in the Wheeler Auditorium Rm. 103 in the Wheeler Auditorium, Wold Physical Science Center. You are welcome to attend and visit with Lorian, Collines, the roadies, etc.

More information on the Congo Tour can be found here: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/congo

Casper College Multicultural Film Festival presents "The Secret of Roan Inish"

The second film of the Casper College Multicultural Film Festival, "Exploring Ireland Through Films," is "The Secret of Roan Inish," which tells the story of a young girl named Fiona, and the tales her grandfather tells of Selkies (creatures who are both woman and seal) and an Irish island called Roan Inish. The film, directed by John Sayles, will be shown on Friday, March 25 beginning at 7 p.m. in Wheeler Auditorium, located in the Wold Physical Science Center, Room 103.

In his review, published in the Chicago Sun Times, movie critic Roger Ebert said: "One can easily guess how this legend could have been simplified and jollied up in other hands, how it could have been about cute little Selkies. But legends are, after all, told by adults, not children, and usually they record something essential to the culture that produces them. What this legend says, I think, is that the people who tell it live on the land but live from the sea, so that their loyalties are forever divided."

Casper College English instructor Joseph Campbell will lead the post-film discussion.

"The Secret of Roan Inish" is free and open to all and is sponsored by the Casper College Honors Program, the Casper College International Studies Program, and Casper College.

Hole Dance Films travels to New York

From filmmaker Carrie Noel Richer in Jackson:

Please come see Hole Dance Films new work, "Elusive Stranger," in New York! Hole Dance Films was founded by Kate Kosharek & Carrie Noel about 3 years ago to make Dance Film work.)

We have been working hard here in Jackson, Wyoming to take New York by Storm and we can't believe the time to premiere our piece is finally here! We will be presenting a piece which has both film and Live dance at Spoke the Hub Theater in Brooklyn on March 25th & 26th.

This piece will be shown with four other artists' choreography as part of the Gowanus Guest Room, curated by Erin Gottwald.

Other presenting companies are, Spank Dance Company from Austin TX; Nina Haft & Company from Oakland CA;  and Caitlin Corbett Dance Company, Boston. Please join us!

Buy your tickets early as the theater fills quickly and the show will sell out. Please see link for additional information: http://www.spokethehub.org/perform/gowanus-guest-room/

Carrie Noel Richer & Kate W. Kosharek Hole Dance Films www.HoleDanceFilms.wordpress.com

Friday, March 25 & Saturday, March 26, 2011, Doors 7:30, Show 8 p.m.

The Gowanus Arts Building, 295 Douglass Street (btn 3rd /4th Aves)

Tickets online available through Brown Paper Tickets:

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/156516*